The Broken Dream World
by AngeloftheMorning1978
Summary: Fan request. Ariadne is the Point Man in a broken world. Arthur is the Architect who is trying to save it.
1. Chapter 1

** Fan Request. Ariadne is the Point Man and Arthur is the Architect. **

** I had my doubts about this one. I mean Arthur is so sexy to me because he is fighting off bad guys. Then I started to to think;**

** "I'm a modern 21st century woman, why can't girl save boy? They did it in 'Hunger Games'."**

** The only way I could really make this work for myself was go the sci-fi way. I modeled this after the old series "Dark Angel". A really kick ass show that FOX canceled along with "Firefly, Terminator: Sarah Connor Canonicals" and "Futurama". **

**YOU SUCK FOX!**

**If you have never seen "Dark Angel", I highly recommend it. **

**The Broken Dream World**

1.

~ The sounds of shouting pulled Ariadne out of sleep. She had closed her window to the cold, bitter winds of the night, but the building she lived in was old, and neglected. All sorts of noise carried through its walls and pipes. She looked at her cell phone. The power had gone out again in the building, and she was grateful she had remembered to charge her cell phone.

'_Prepare for the worst._' She thought as she checked the time. It was still a few hours before she had to be up for work. But her mind was suddenly very much awake.

'_All that sleeping I did on the last job_.' She thought bitterly.

~ Her rented room was small, but big enough for her. She had her own bathroom, which she was grateful for. The water always came out clean, although never hot. A thing she was less grateful for. She could remember a time when the world actually worked. When she was little, if you turned the hot water on, it rushed out pipping hot and you could have a real shower.

As things were now, She had a pair of pliers permanently affixed to to the bath tub faucet. The real faucet had long ago rotted away. She used her small gas heater to warm a few pots of water and dumped them into the cold bath water. This achieved a marginally warm bath for her, and was better then nothing.

~ Outside of the old building she called home, Ariadne saw the cause of the shouting. Some idiot had parked his car out front and was shocked that it had been stolen. She had to suppress a laugh as they wanted to call the police. She knew the police would do nothing and only tell the victims they should have known better.

~ She walked to the local paid parking to get her bike out. These days, almost no one but the very rich or corrupt drove cars. Most people made do with public transportation, bicycles or motorcycles. Ariadne was lucky, she had saved diligently for two years to afford a used black Nemesis motorcycle. It got excellent gas mileage, and with gas hitting alarmingly high records _again_ this spring, she could barely afford to fill it up.

When she was little, her parents each had a car. They would go to the store and everything was easy. She could remember it, if only a little. A time when there was food enough and space enough. Where all the kids went to school and the power and hot water was always on.

It seemed like a dream, that mythical childhood, before things fell apart.

~ _It had started with civil unrest. People rioting in the streets. At first it was only on the news. Her parents talked about it. Her mother worried about it. But it wasn't something that effected her or her world. The rioting was happening overseas and didn't involve them. Soon enough, the rioting was happening in their city. _

_ Suddenly, there were national guard soldiers on the streets. Helicopters shining high wattage lights over the city. Her mother crying that this was a war zone. News of food rationing and her teachers showing them how to use gas masks. _

_ She didn't understand what was happening. The whole thing seeming like a grand adventure to her and the other children. Something that was fun and out of the ordinary. _

_ Then one day, people turned up missing. Kids from her class would go home to find their parents had vanished. Leaving everything behind. Dishes were in the sink, clothes still in the washing machine, and no one home. _

_ Ariadne's mother worried all the time. The government closed down the office she worked at, and her father was hording food. Preparing for the worst. _

_ Their rations had been reduced and her neighbors had started to disappear. _

"_The Peacekeepers." Her mother would hiss as the family all slept in one room of the apartment they had been 'relocated' to. "They must have thought the Millers were talking." _

"_We just have to keep quite. Not get involved." Her father had hissed back in the darkness. The power was out and likely to remain off. _

"_They reduced the rations, again!" Her mother cried. "A loaf of bread a day, no meat and no fruit. We have a child!" She said desperately. "What are we going to do?" _

"_We just have to stay alive." Her father said._

_ But they didn't. When Ariadne was eleven, she came home from school and found the small apartment empty. The Peacekeepers had most likely taken her parents. She never saw them again. _

_ She had packed a bag and stayed at her cousin's home until the schools became the focus of the new government. They controlled what was taught and if it was found some school was teaching anything the new government thought too revolutionary, the school was burned. _

_ At age thirteen, Ariadne had to leave school forever. Too many schools had been burned and the ones that were spared were too dangerous. Any type of home learning was out of the question. Libraries were closed or burned. The internet hadn't been up in years._

_ She had to get a job. Labor laws had changed and she could only get rations if she worked. If she didn't work or wasn't in school, she got nothing and would be left to starve. _

_ Mercifully, there was plenty of jobs. She had no trouble making money. When she was 16, the cousin was murdered and her family had been taken by the peacekeepers. Ariadne wasn;t home at the time, so she was spared. _

_ She had been on her own since. _

~ She drove her bike through the crowded streets. Streets that were swamped with people, bikes, trash, abandoned cars, and other refuse. Even with people disappearing, the streets were always full. Most of the buildings around them sat empty. Not many could afford rent these days. They lived out of their broken old cars or found shelters as squatters. The only ones who could make it in this world were the young. People who were able to work two or three jobs. The old, were left to starve.

Starve they did. It was becoming nothing at all to see a body on the streets. People ignored it, and the collectors would pick them up in a few days.

'_Perfectly normal_.' She thought and road on. The loud engines of her motorcycle revving as she finally cleared the crowded inner city.

She felt wonderful with the wind in her hair like this. The open, if dilapidated, road before her. She recklessly raced her bike to the district crossing.

She had an appointment to keep.

~ District police guarded the areas of the city she could and could not enter. A simple forged district pass allowed her through district 8 to district 7 and then 6.

'_Costing me more then it's worth_.' She thought as she handed over the expertly forged district pass to the fat man who looked ridiculous in his guard's uniform.

~ District 6 was a somewhat better area. It wasn't as run down as the crime ridden streets of district 8. She knew, only by rumors, that districts 9 and 10 were even worse. In district 6, she noticed that there were cars on the cleaner streets. The power was on and the building didn't appear vandalized by street 'artists'.

'Wonder what district 5 and 4 are like?' she wondered bitterly. The unfairness of it all. How some people were not allowed to live and work in a better, safe, cleaner district. The new Government's way of keeping order.

She roared up to the address that had been texted to her. The message unknown so vague she knew it had to be work related. No one messaged her unless it was offering her work.

In a building that still looked new, a security guard met her at the door.

"Name, Please?" He asked looking down on her as she carelessly straddled her bike.

She looked at him scornfully. Not impressed with his broad shoulders or obvious strength.

"Ariadne." She said pulling off her sunglasses. "I have an appointment with someone named Arthur. He sent me this address."

The guard stood a little straighter as she listened to a voice in his ear piece she couldn't hear. Her sharp eyes looked over his shoulder and spotted a small black security camera. She recognized the high tech camera that no doubt took in every detail.

"Arthur and his party are waiting for you in the penthouse." The guard said politely. "You can park you bike in the privet garage, Ma'am."

"Thanks." Ariadne said pushing her sunglasses back down and rode to the underground parking garage of the building. The guard waved her in and showed her to a reserved parking spot. He walked her to the lift and used a special key to grant her access to the top floor.

The elevator was rich and clean. Like the New Government never laid it's hands on it. She wasn't used to riding in elevators and was shocked that the it had a small plasma screen TV in it that ran old commercials.

Ariadne had to smile at that. She remembered commercials from when she was little. They advertised things no one could buy anymore. Fast food, toys, weight loss plans and cars. It was like time travel.

All too soon, the lift dinged to the penthouse and the doors slid open.

Ariadne snapped her careful eyes to the young man standing in front of her. He was tall and very lean. He had dark brown hair that was cut very short and wore black rimmed 'hipster' glasses. His clothing could only be described as odd in this world. He wore nice slacks, a dress shirt and neck tie. She didn't know men still dressed like that.

"I'm Ariadne." She said after taking a moment to sum him up.

"I know. I'm Arthur." He said in a deep voice.

"So, I hear your looking for a Point Man." She said.


	2. Chapter 2

2.

~ "Isn't the more PC term 'Point _Person_'?" Arthur asked as he walked with her into the penthouse. It was big, clean and air conditioned. The lights were all on and she even spied a large gourmet kitchen.

"PC?" She asked looking around.

"Never mind." Arthur said looking her over when he thought she didn't notice.

She noticed.

"Nice place you have here." She said.

"Thank you."

"Was it you who told the guard to let me up when you saw me on the security cameras?" She asked casually.

Arthur stopped. He looked slightly taken aback.

"Yes it was. I own this building." He said.

"And it was you who recruited me?" She finished turning back to him. She surmised he wasn't much of a threat. He seemed too 'bookish' to be the type to hurt her.

Although she was a petite woman, people tended to underestimate her abilities. They were always surprised by what she could do.

"Not me, no." Arthur said nodding to another man who had just entered the room. Ariadne turned and saw a tall blond man. His face was beautiful, but his eyes were troubled and sad.

"Your Dom Cobb." She said casually, remembering the wanted posters that littered all districts. "Cobol Engineering has a price on your head. So this where you've been hiding."

~ "Cobb, I don't know about this." Arthur whispered as their new 'Point Man' made her way, cat like, around his home.

"She came highly recommended." Cobb hissed back.

"She's barely 5 feet tall." Arthur laughed as he rolled up he sleeves.

"I'm 5'1." She called out lazily from the hall. Her hearing exceptional. "And I am highly recommended. I've worked in Dream Extraction since I was 19."

"Always on Point?" Arthur asked sceptically.

"Yes." She called back unphased by his doubts.

Arthur shook his head at Cobb who shrugged.

"You have hot water!" her voice came from the hall.

Arthur furrowed his brows.

"What is she doing?" He turned to Cobb who shook his head.

"Maybe they don't have hot water in district 8." He suggested. Arthur abandoned his comrade and found their new Point Man in the guest bathroom. She was running scalding hot water in a large tub.

"What are these holes in the sides for?" She asked looking over the tub.  
"Water jets." He answered in shock.  
"Oh my!" She said with a happy grin. She completely ignored him as she started stripping off her leather jacket, shoes and was starting on her top.

Arthur, suddenly realizing she was taking off her clothes, averted his eyes. His face flushing embarrassingly red.

"What are you doing?" He almost shouted.

"Taking a bath." She explained simply. Tossing off her black top and starting on her pants. Not caring if he saw her naked or not.

"Oh, um... alright." He said trying to gracefully maneuver out of the bathroom. It's many mirrors catching her body as she slipped off her bra and panties with ease.

"Uh just put your clothes in the chute there and... my house keeper will wash them for you." He said stupidly.

"Thanks." She said. "Can you shut the door?" She asked as he managed to stumble out.  
~ "What's going on?" Cobb asked when Arthur returned.

"Um... she's taking a bath." Arthur said. Still in shock.  
"Your blushing." Cobb teased.

"No I'm not!" Arthur barked. "Just not used to strange women stripping naked in my home. That's all."

The Extractor smiled.

"You need to live more." Cobb said at last.

~ She was in heaven. The water was hot and she played with the water jets until her fingers and toes became prune like. She used a nice selection of exotic smelling soaps and even washed her hair.

_'Was it always like this?_' She wondered. '_Before the war, before the riots and the new government?_'

"Ariadne?" Came a knock on the door.

"Yeah?" She called out annoyed that her bliss was so rudely interrupted.

"Are you alright?" He came back. "You've been in there a long time."

"I'll be out in a second!" She shouted back.

'_Gezz, what's his problem?_' She thought.

~ Arthur came back into his living room.  
"She's still in there." He said nervously.

"You have a hot girl in your bathtub and your complaining?" A handsome man with a British accent teased. He wore a smirk of a smile as Arthur threw him a dirty look.

"How do you know she's a hot girl?" Arthur asked as Cobb sighed deeply.

"I saw the security camera footage. She's a hot girl. And you think so to." Eames said pointing to Arthur. Who huffed.

"Well, 'hot girl' want's to know where her clothes are. If you don't mind." Ariadne's voice broke apart their conversion.

All three men looked over at her. None of them had heard her leave the bathroom or come into the living room and were caught off guard by her sudden apperance. She was 'wearing' a large red bath towel wrapped around her body. Her hair still damp from it's wash. She held her black boots in one hand and secured the towel in the other.

She seemed unconcerned to be nearly naked with so many strange men around her.

"Um... I think... I think Lucy is done with them." Arthur fumbled. He pointed to a small closet down the hall. "They should be in there." He said.

"Thanks." She called out heading for the hall. "You guys want to tell me what this mission is about?" She called as the three men stayed in the living room. Cobb preventing Eames from peeping down the hall as Ariadne didn't seem to troubled by modesty and re-dressed just out of sight.  
"It's an Inception." Cobb called out.

"Can't be done." Ariadne said back.

"Yes it can." Cobb retorted.

"We've tried it a few times before." Eames said to the hallway. "Didn't take."

"Because it can't be done." Ariadne said coming back into the living room. She was now fully dressed and sat down on the sofa lacing up her boots. She looked at Eames skeptically.

"Your British." She observed at last.

"Well spotted." Eames said with a laugh.  
"How did you get out of England? I thought they blockade everything because of the virus. Right before Paris went terminal." She asked.

"I was in Mombasa at the time." Eames said.

"What's your job here?" She asked.

"I'm a Forger." Eames answered.  
"We need one?" She asked Cobb. The Extractor nodded.

"And what do you do?" She turned to Arthur.

"I'm the Architect. I also do research for each mission." Arthur said feeling annoyed.

"Must get paid pretty good. You live like this." She told him standing up and looking around the well decorated living room.

"This mission is not about money." Arthur snapped. She had obviously touched on a sensitive issue.  
"Everything is about money." Ariadne bit back.

"Not this time." Cobb said ending their squabble.

"What's it about then? Who do you want to plant an idea in, and what's the idea? Always assuming it can be done." Ariadne said condescendingly to the Extractor.

"It's on the CEO of Cobol Engineering." Cobb said.

She paled slightly. Her lips parting in disbelief.

"Cobol Engineering?" She whispered.

"Yes. The ones who caused all this." Arthur said fixing a cold stare on her. "The ones who broke our world."


	3. Chapter 3

3.

~ She laughed then.

"Well, it was very nice to meet all of you." She said with a mocking smile. "But I'm out. Dream extractions are dangerous enough without pissing off the people who make the world spin."

"We have the chance to break Cobol. We have to take it. They have destroyed everything." Arthur said to her. His voice a cold rage that didn't seem to fit with his librarian look.

"I'm not playing political maurder with a wanted fugitive." She nodded to Cobb. "An illegal immigrant," a look to Eames. "And a bored rich boy." She glanced over Arthur as if she wasn't impressed. "I didn't survive this long by picking a fight with the people who pay Peacekeepers. You may not be afraid of them, but I am."

"Ariadne." Arthur growled as he followed her to the lifts. "We have the unique ability to undo all that Cobol has done to this world. People have been left to starve in the streets."

"People have been left to starve in the streets before." She retorted with a shrug of her shoulders.

"How can you just ignore this? How can you not care about people with no food or clean water? Are you that heartless?" He accused angrily.  
"Says the man with hot water and electricity." She hissed. Her tone deadly and threatening.

The two of them seemed to be engaged in a staring contest for a long time. Their eyes dueling as the lift finally dinged and opened.

"It's alright." Eames said walking towards them. A fox like grin on his face. "She's obviously not up for the job, Arthur." He delivered a hard slip to her butt then that didn't phase her, but seemed to be a trigger that caused her to spin around and quickly take hold of the Forgers hand, bend it back and flip him over with ease.

Eames was on the floor, the wind knocked out of him before Arthur was aware of what was happening.  
"I think she'll do fine as our Point Man." Cobb said to Arthur who stared at Ariadne. She had her boot on Eames' neck.

"_Never_ touch me again." She ordered him as he looked back up at her with wide eyes.

~ "Eames was a mixed martial arts fighter." Arthur whispered. "How can he be taken down by such a small woman?" Arthur asked after she had let the Forger go. Eames wasn't hurt, but he kept a respectful distance from her.

"Maybe he hasn't been practicing." Cobb suggested with a laugh.

"Not funny, Cobb." Arthur hissed. "She's not willing to help us."

"She might be. If she was paid enough." Cobb said hopefully.

"She's right. There isn't enough money in the world to risk her life to Cobol." Arthur said skeptically.

"Maybe you need to show her." Cobb suggested.

~ Ariadne was in Arthur's kitchen. She had helped herself to his refrigerator and was drinking a cola.  
"Hard to find those these days." Arthur nodded to her drink.  
"I drank them all the time when I was little." She told him. "Is Mr. Eames alright?"

"Only thing wounded is his pride. Not everyday and ex MMA champ gets his ass handed to him by a girl." Arthur told her. She smiled at that.

"Well, first time for everything." She admitted.

"Sorry I doubted your abilities." He said.

She shrugged. Pretending to be indifferent. A hard shell that this world required.

"I wanted to show you something." Arthur said holding out his hand.

~ They rode the elevator down to the basement. Past the underground garage.

"Where are we going?" She asked him.

"You said it's easy for me to worry about the poor and starving from my lofty castle in the sky." Arthur said.  
"I don't think that's _exactly_ what I said." she told him. Her eyes flickering to him teasingly.

He smiled.

"I cleaned it up a little." He laughed. "I wanted to show you I _do_ care. This mission, it's not about money. It's about more. It's about the world. When Cobol took over, they outlawed everything we have always held sacred. They took away our rights under the guise of protecting them. They banned freedom of speech, shut down the internet, and monitored all communication."

"Nice history lesson." Ariadne said as the lift door opened.

She gasped.

"What is this place?" She breathed.

"The last vestige of freedom." Arthur said. The elevator opened to a massive underground facility. It's walls were lined floor to ceiling with books and other media. She looked at the well preserved book spines.

"Harry Potter." She said with a smile looking at the childhood story of magic she had loved so much as a girl. "I thought all copies were burned."

"Most were." Arthur said. "A few were saved."

"How many books do you have?" She asked in disbelief.

"Hard to keep track of." Arthur said thinking hard. "We get new ones in all the time. We operate a printing press down here and make new copies to send out. Our contacts take them, and bring them to the people who still believe in freedom." Arthur said sadly. "Who want to teach kids the facts and not what the new Government wants you to belive."

"You converted the old subway tunnels into a library." She said in disbelief. Her eyes roaming over the rounded, tube like walls of the library.

"Yes. The lines run right under this building. Everyone forgot about them when the Panic happened. Just before they started burning the schools, my friends and I were trying to save the books, movies and music. We have to save the knowledge before it was lost forever." He said. "They had already shut the internet down."

"If the Peacekeepers found out you were doing all this... that you had these books" Ariadne said looking at him worriedly.  
"I know." Arthur said. She didn't have to tell him. He would be lucky if the Peacekeepers only made him 'disappear'.

"There's more I want to show you." He whispered taking her hand carefully. Remembering what she did to Eames.

~ Ariadne looked in surprise at the large group of obvious refugees.

"They _live_ here?" She asked him.

"For a short time, Yes." He told her. His large hands covering hers as they looked over the balcony that afforded them a view of a long forgotten subway hub station. It had been hastily converted into a livable space. The floors were littered with cots and people were crowded together.

"Who are they?" She asked.  
"People the Peacekeepers would have made disappear. Our group helps get them away. Relocate to a safer place with new identities."

"Were they in danger because they were helping your group?" She asked.

"Some of them, yes." Arthur admitted. She shook her head.

"What your doing, it's admirable." She told him as she turned away from the sight of so mush disparaging humanity. "But what your talking about doing, it's impossible."

"Cobb says he's done it before." Arthur said following her out.

"Cobb was _wrong_." Ariadne spat back hurriedly leaving through the tunnel library. The smell of books hitting her and reminding her of reading as a child.

"Ariadne, we need you." He said chasing after her.  
"If I got caught with you, do know what they would do?" She asked spinning around. The suddenly aloneness with him in the solitude of these books was humbling. Like being in church. It felt wrong to yell or even speak above a whisper. She was reminded that not a few feet away were the greatest stories and words ever written. They were sacred things.

"We won't get caught." Arthur assured her.

She rolled her eyes.  
"Do you think, Cobol will fix everything if we succeed?" She asked sarcastically. "Do you think that they can just flip a switch and the power comes on, the hot water? That food will be back in the super markets and rationing will end?"

"Not right away." Arthur conceded. "But it will be the start we need." Arthur said. "We have the chance to save the world. To stop the destruction. We were too cowardly to stop it when they first started. We believed their lies and we sold our souls. We have to get it back."

"We can't fix it, Arthur." Ariadne said shaking her head sadly. "We can only survive it."

She started to walk away.

"Wait, please?" he called to her. She stopped and turned to him.

He was holding out a well cared for copy of 'Harry Potter'.

"Your _giving_ it to me?" She asked skeptically.  
"On loan." He told her. "You'll bring it back when you've change your mind."

"You loan books to all the strange women you meet?" She asked taking the book from him.

"No." He said shaking his head. "Just the ones who insist on taking a bath in my home."


	4. Chapter 4

4.

~ She could feel the book burning her skin as she made her way back home. Each district pass she went through, she felt they would find it. This dangerous children's book that was hidden in her clothes. Tucked unassumingly under her shirt. It's cover burning her skin.

'_It's too great a risk_.' She thought as she hurriedly locked the door to her tiny room. '_I should get rid of_ _it somehow_.'

If it was discovered she had such an inflammatory thing in her possession... She shuddered.

Still, she was draw to the world she hadn't visited in so long. Her reading was rusty from her years out of school, but she soon remembered.

She had read this once. It had been so long ago now, she thought it might have just been a dream, or something she made up. But no, this was real. Others had read this book to. It was like she was apart of a very secret world that had so few members now.

~ She woke up the next morning to more shouting. This time it was a woman and her daughter. They were screaming and crying.

~ Arthur watched the dawn rise out of the dirty, polluted sky line. He drank his coffee and looked over the security camera stills of Ariadne. Their, hopefully, new Point Man.

He hated to admit when Eames was right. She _was_ a hot girl. Yet, she wasn't. Her features were classically beautiful. Like someone who had existed only in fairy tales. Her beauty was only marred, in his opinion, by the heavy black eyeliner she wore. Yet, she was still lovely.

He had hoped she would be back. Not just for the sake of his book, but because she would work well in the dream. Something about her let him know she was capable and thought quickly on her feet. Something about her told him she could be trusted with his secrets. The library, his work. She wouldn't tell. He was certain about that.

His security camera's lit up then as a black motorcycle came into view. There was Ariadne and another young woman on that death trap of a bike of hers. The other woman was riding behind her. Her eyes big and scared looking. Her face bruised. His security guard went to meet them.

"Let them up." Arthur said into the radio as he went to finish dressing.

~ "I'm in." Ariadne said when the lift doors opened to reveal both women.

"I'm glad." Arthur said honestly.

"I need your help." She told him.

~ "The Peacekeepers did this?" Arthur whispered as the young woman was being examined by a doctor. One of the refugees who was living in the tunnels below the building.

"It seems he was taking... favors from girls so they could get their rations. Anne was willing to give him what he wanted... he decided it was more fun to take it." Ariadne said gravely.

"I would say it's illegal, but we know the Peacekeepers are above the law." Arthur said. "War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength." He added.

She looked puzzled for a moment.  
"I don't understand." She said.

"It's from a book. I'll loan it to you." He said with a smile.  
"Here." She said handing over 'Harry Potter'.

"Your read it?" He asked with a smile.

"It's very good." She said with a nod.

"Would you like to borrow some more?" He asked.

"It's not worth the risk." She told him shaking her head.

"It's always worth the risk." He told her.

She looked up at him. Her eyes cold.

"What's going to happen to Anne?" She asked.  
"The doctor will treat her. She can stay with the refugees if she wants to. We can provide her with a new identity. Try to get her out of the country."

"I have money to pay for that." Ariadne said handing over a large stack of crumpled cash. "It's not much."

"Keep it." Arthur said softly.

"No, I can't let you risk your group as a favor to me." She told him worriedly.

He sighed and smiled.

"Sounds like your a part of our group now." He said.

~ "John Hinder." Eames said showing off a elaborate chalk board filled with pictures and maps. "He's the CEO of Cobol Engineering and has been for the last 30 years now. A self made billionaire, several times over. He thinks he's a genius, but really he's just ruthless.

"In the past 30 years, Cobol became a super power. They put all others out of business who stood in their way and wouldn't be bought out. After the Great Panic, they were responsible for most of the security in the world. Our parents were so afraid of... who knows what, the handed them the keys to the kingdom." Eames concluded.

"They used that power to separate, intimidate and and control the people. They eliminated dangerous things like communication and education. Then gave us luxuries like clean drinking water and food." Arthur added.

"Are you sure this guy is as powerful as all that?" Ariadne asked skeptically. "He's just one man. Maybe he's a figure head."

"We've already done an extraction Hinder." Cobb said. Ariadne looked at him in shock. The Extractor shrugged.  
"Why do you think Cobol wants me dead?" He asked.

"So what's the idea we need to plant?" Arthur asked looking over his hand written notes.

"We need to move this down to the simplest version of the idea." Eames said.  
"So what? 'Don't be such a dick.'?" Ariadne suggested. Arthur smiled.

"We go with anything too obvious, he will know that the idea is not his own." Eames said. "It has to be something he would have thought of himself."

"He's never going to give up that kind of power. No one would." Ariadne said.

"He would if he thought it would hurt him." Arthur suggested. "All great dictators fear the wrath of the people."

"The people aren't happy." Ariadne added.

"He had them all separated by districts and unable to communicate." Cobb said.

"How about we show him a world where the people break free of the districts? Over run the capital?" Ariadne suggested.  
"That would only make him tighten his hold on the people." Eames said shaking his head. "It would be Paris all over again."

"Last thing we need is to go terminal." Cobb said with a deep scowl.

"Maybe we could show him what it's like to live like the people in district 8 or even 9 and 10." Ariadne offered. "Teach him some empathy."

"Might become a positive motivation for him." Arthur shrugged.  
"Positive emotion trumps negative." Cobb agreed.

"Or at the very least it could scare him enough to make him change his ways." Eames added.

~ "Why do you insist on riding that death trap?" Arthur asked as he walked her to her bike later that evening. She laughed.

"Because it's fun." She told him with a smile.  
"You don't even wear a helmet." Arthur observed worriedly.

"You ever ridden one?" She asked innocently.

"No!" He laughed.

"Why?"

"Because it's incredibly dangerous." He told her smartly.

"Says the man who defies an evil and corrupt government." Ariadne teased. He rolled his eyes.

"Not the same." He told her.

They waited in silence for a few moments.  
"You know, you don't have to go back to district 8. You could stay here. I have a guest room. It's kind of dangerous out there. Even if you know self defense." He offered.

"Bit too soon in our relationship to be asking me to spend the night don't you think?" She teased. He looked embarrassed.  
"Besides, I can handle myself." She assured him starting her bike. It roared angrily to life.  
"I know you can." He muttered. "Where did you learn all that stuff anyway?" He asked as she readied to leave.  
"Girl Scouts!" She shouted back as her bike pulled her out of the garage and back home to district 8.


	5. Chapter 5

5.

~ District 8 was alive with discontent as Ariadne rode through the streets. People were screaming and crying as uniformed Peacekeepers were shoving people out of the way.  
"What's happening?" She asked a woman who was piling her small children into a broke down truck.

"Peacekeepers. Their tossing the buildings!" She said throwing a worried look at the uniformed men shouting at a group of people. Clothing and furniture was tossed out of windows as the '_cleansing_' was now in full swing.

Ariadne had seen this before. It happened whenever there was suspicion of insurgency. All the residents were relocated and their meager possessions were gone through. Those who resisted were lined up against a wall and shot.

She had seen enough. She silently thanked the foresight that had her return Arthur's book to him and turned her bike around. She had no possessions in her small room that she couldn't live without, it was time to leave district 8.

She made to turn around when a strong hand clamped down on her shoulder.

"Need to see your district card!" The burly Peacekeeper growled at her. What she did then, was only explainable by reflex. Her body responded before her mind did. She quickly took hold of the burly peacekeeper's wrist and maneuvered her small body around his. Taking hold of the back of his neck. Her foot kicking him soundly in the kidney. As he went down in pain, she pulled free his weapon. The crowd around her, seeing what she did, took this as a cause for revolt and started attacking the other Peacekeepers. As the panic ensued, she rode away from the mounting chaos and drove back to district 6.

~ Arthur was watching a security camera feed of district 8. He had seen this kind of thing before, but never in real life. His eyes searched for a dark haired woman on a black motorcycle. He wasn't sure what had set off the Peacekeepers, but he could tell that things were not going to end well. Already, there was a group of men and women who were segregated into a fenced in area. Waiting to be shot. A large group of people who were stupid enough to fight back. They now lay dead in the streets.

"Where are you?" He muttered to himself and he rolled the security camera over the people's faces, looking for Ariadne. He had hijacked a feed from the security cameras. A video no one was meant to see. His group holding and maintaining what could arguably be called the internet.

He had risked everything for years to ensure that the knowledge didn't die and the internet was the fastest and safest way to do that.

It had taken years, but his group had over 100,000 people who could connect to the net, send covert messages and videos of the horrors the Peacekeepers inflicted on the innocent. It wasn't the internet that is once was, but for now, it was all they had.

His friend and contact had alerted him to the sudden unrest in district 8 and Arthur couldn't find Ariadne in the maze of people. He didn't care how formidable she was in hand to hand combat, he worried about her. Her excellent fighting skills couldn't combat bullets from trigger happy Peacekeepers.

"Sir?" His security guard over the radio.

"What is it?" Arthur barked. His thoughts interrupted.

"Your lady friend is back. I sent her up."

Arthur jumped out of his seat. Before he even reached the elevators, she was there.

"Thank God your okay." He breathed embracing her.

Ariadne looked a little shocked at his sudden show of affection.  
"Things are a little crazy in district 8 right now." She said when he pulled away. "I was hoping your offer of the guest room was still available."

~ "They were looking for insurgents." Ariadne said when Arthur brought her some tea. It had started to rain and as the storm grew worse, the power failed. Arthur had lit some emergency candles and they joked how even in district 6, the power wasn't that steady.

"It's just an excuse to put the fear of God in people. Someone wanted them out of some buildings and it's a chance to shoot and kill trouble makers." She added as if she didn't care.

"An effective way to keep the sheep in line." He grumbled. "You were lucky to get out when you did." Arthur looked out the window and sighed.

"I had a security feed coming out of district 8." He told her. "I was worried when I couldn't find you."

"You were worried about me?" She said with a teasing smile.

He shook his head and said nothing.  
"How old were you? When the great Panic happened?" She asked.

"I was twelve when the rioting started." He said lost in memories. "My parents were well off. When they spoke out against the new laws, their money protected them. For a while anyway." He said sadly. "My whole family are libertarians. We have always believed the only thing that keeps a government honest, is the threat of revolution. The threat of the people."

"So you were just a teenager when you decided to revolt? Raiding the libraries and funneling out refugees?" She asked.

"And keeping the internet up. Someone has to show people what's happening in district 8 right now." He said.

"Wow, I feel like I haven't accomplished much in my life." She said putting her empty cup down.

"Your accomplishing something now." Arthur said. "If this mission is successful... we could save the world. The people who died tonight, won't have died in vain."

"We _all_ die in vain, Arthur." She said bitterly.

He glanced at her in surprise.  
"After everything you've seen, our work here, you still believe that?" He asked. She sighed. They were both sitting on his expensive leather couch, enjoying the candle light and the sound of the rain outside.

"I admire your work, Arthur." She told him. "But it's easy for you to be noble when you live in... what did you call it? The castle in the sky?"

"So because I'm not a radical district 8 revolutionist, my cause isn't valid?" Arthur almost barked at her. She looked at him then. He seemed so passionate and suddenly, she wasn't listening to a word he was saying. All she could think about was how his short brown hair would feel on her skin. The luxury of his body on hers. She was even warming up to the dorky glasses he wore.

She wanted him to stop talking. His words were very noble and inspiring, but she wanted his passion focused elsewhere.

Before Arthur could react properly, she had nimbly straddled his waist. Her legs resting on each side of his lean hips and she was sitting on his lap. Her lips gently nipping his. Her hands in his closely cropped hair forcing his face up to meet hers.

"What are you doing?" He asked as fight had now turned into a bought of slow kissing.

"It's called sex, Arthur." She told him. "It's fun. You'll like it. I promise." She teased as she kissed him again. She knew how to kiss well. Their lips melting together in perfect sync. She reveled in the fact she could bend him to her will so easily. His hands moving up her hips and traveling up her back.  
"You... you want..." He panted as her mouth took his again. He was weakening. She always had fun seducing men like this. They thought they were in control of the situation, but really, they had very little will power to refuse her.

Arthur proved her wrong.

She had taken off her top and he lost no time kissing her breasts. His mouth on them like he was starving. His lips pulling her nipples taught. She could feel his growing hunger for her between her legs and smiled at the power she had over him.

"We shouldn't do this." He panted as he pulled away from her.

Her attention was rudely snapped back to reality.

"What?" She almost shouted at him. "You don't want to?"

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had never been turned down before. She looked at him in shock.

"I just... I just don't think we should do this. We have to stay focused on the mission." He panted looking longingly at her bare chest. His breathing rapid and his need still pressing between her legs.

She would have accused him of being gay, but his hardness told her it wasn't that.

"Are you _serious_?" She asked in disbelief.

"We can't compromise the mission." He said as she pulled her body away from his. She picked up her top and roughly pulled it over her head as she stomped to the guest room.

"Unbelievable." She muttered.


	6. Chapter 6

6.

~ Morning came over district 6. The fires of district 8 went largely unnoticed by the people here. Only a select few were sending the video of the atrocity around. Word was covertly spreading along with images of helpless people being murdered.

Once the power was back on, Arthur had been quick to receive and send information about the conditions of a now broken district 8. The area looked grim as he used the hijacked security cameras to scan the burnt out streets of district 8. Only a skinny stray dog was moving along the deserted buildings.

~ "She spent the night?" Eames asked in shock. The Forger's eyes bright and happy when Arthur told him. "Well done." he teased.  
"It wasn't like that." Arthur grumbled. "She was trying to get away from the cleansing."

"Yeah, I saw the video. Is she alright?" Eames asked.

"Of course." Arthur said. "Kicked _your _ass didn't she?"

"I think she likes me. I mean, I sorta let her beat me up. You know when she kicked me in the stomach? It hurt, but there was something between us." Eames said chewing on a muffin.

"Your crazy." Arthur said running the coffee maker.

"Are you going to make a move?" Eames asked. "I mean, you don't really have a shot with a girl like that."

"I have a shot." Arthur said dryly. The memory of his exchange with Ariadne making his blood race.

"Really? Did you two get into anything last night?" He asked.  
"No." Arthur answered soberly.

"So you _don't_ have a shot." Eames said.

"We were going to fool around but Arthur thought it wasn't a good idea." Ariadne said coming out of the guest bathroom. Her excellent hearing picking up their entire conversation despite the closed doors. "At least not till the mission was completed." She added combing out her damp hair.

"Oh." Eames said raising his eyebrows as their Point 'Man' left the bathroom in nothing but a towel. Arthur gave the Forger a sly look.

~ Arthur's plans for the dream levels were amazing. He had a real artist's eye for detail. Each level painstaking hand sketched and done in a 3D model.  
"I don't think I've ever seen dreams this complete." Ariadne said looking over the grand decadence of a train station.

"This was how the world looked before the Panic. Before everything went to hell. We can use this as the first level. Make everything nice and easy in the Pre-Panic years." Arthur said as the Team looked over the station.

"Right. As he goes a level deeper, we keep feeding him the message of his own suffering. How his life is declining. Maybe give him a family, and take that away." Eames said.

"One thing I don't get." Ariadne offered as she looked over the fine details of a clean train station. "If were getting close enough to preform an Inception on Hinder, why don't we just kill him?"

"We kill one and two more will rise in it's place." Cobb said. "Killing him isn't the solution. It's better the enemy we know, then one we don't We are better of changing the minds of those already in power."

"So you think this is the _simple_ way?" She asked doubtfully.

~ "I'm sorry about last night." Arthur whispered as he showed her the third level paradoxes. A world where Hinder would be subjected to a cleansing that would leave his family gone, relocated to a horrible internment camp and on the run from Peacekeepers. It would by far be the most dangerous level, which is why it was meant to be Ariadne's dream. In the dreams, she was even more formidable then in real life. Cobb and Arthur had witnessed first hand her subduing an army of their own projection. She did it with remarkable grace and vanished into a crowd of other projections. Easily losing them.

"So am I." She told him as they wandered the empty broken streets. "I've never been turned down before."  
"I wasn't turning you down." Arthur insisted.  
"Really." Ariadne said sarcastically as she walked a little ahead of him. Her eyes looking over the broken windows that could provide cover for sniper attacks.

"No, I just don't believe people who work together should..." He looked lost for words.

"Hook up?" She offered. "For such an educated man you don't have a good vocabulary on certain things."

"I don't believe we should mix business with pleasure." He explained. "And all my education is self taught."  
"Well Mr. Self Taught, I assure you, would have been pleasurable." She told him casting him a flirty look over she shoulder.  
"Why did you... I mean why did you start all that?" He asked shyly. His eyes going to his shoes.  
"You were babbling on and on about saving the world. It seemed like the best way to shut you up." Ariadne said with a laugh.

She tuned around, expecting to see Arthur smiling as well. He only gave her a stern look.

"What?" She asked with a shrug. Not understanding what she had done.

"You really believe that? That what were doing is just talk?" He asked rubbing his chin with his hand.

"Look, I've told you before that I think your ideas are very admirable. But I'm only after a payday." She said looking over the decimated city that she and Arthur would guide Hinder through on the third level.

"Well, then after this work is complete, we won't see each other." Arthur said. "Are you ready to wake up now? Have you seen enough?" He seemed to brush past her and not want to have anything to do with her.  
"I've seen enough." She told him with a sigh.

~ The mission was set for a Friday. Eames had expertly tracked the Mark's movements and discovered on the weekends he was a ghost. He rarely checked in with his company and engaged in some questionable activities.

"It means he visits sex clubs." Ariadne said when Eames tried to sugar coat the whereabouts of the Mark. "We can make the grab when he gets there. It will take about 10 hours, when can dump him off at home and he will think he's had a great time."

"Nice and neat." Arthur said.

"We will have to pay one of his 'girls' to help us make the drop off. It shouldn't be a problem. I'll go there tonight." Ariadne said.

"Wait, a sex club?" Arthur almost choked. "No you won't. It's too dangerous."

"Unless you want to go?" Ariadne asked with a raise eyebrow. "This is a part of my job, Arthur. Besides, I'll be a lot safer then you will." She said throwing on her black jacket.

"Enough." Cobb said calling them to attention. "Ariadne you get us a control and buy her out. Make sure the girl you get is someone who we can trust."

"You can't trust anyone who has sex for money." Ariadne said. "But I'm sure there are more then a few of his favorites who don't care for him." She said.

~ Arthur had used his hijacked security camera feed to monitor Ariadne as she drove 'That Death Trap' down to district 5. It was a little better off. One where the sex trade made the economy flourish.

He sat up a little straighter as he watched her waved into the club. The bouncer's liking a pretty young woman.

Arthur waited nervously for her to come back out. Wondering what was happening to her in such a place. When she finally emerged, she looked fine. All her clothing was still on, the same as when she had gone in. She rode back to district 6.

~ "Please tell me you didn't have to... _do_ anything there." Arthur asked as he met her at the elevator. Ariadne sighed and handed him a bag of something.

"They had strawberries in district 5. I thought you might like some." She told him curtly. "No, I didn't have to _do_ anything. Not that it's any of your business."

"It _is_ my business!" Arthur barked taking the bag. The smell of strawberries hitting him. He hadn't had fruit in at least five years.

"No, it's really not!" Ariadne shouted at him from the hallway. Slamming the door to his guest bathroom.

~ She had enjoyed a long, hot soak in the bathtub before going back out. The smell of that club, the whorish perfume, seemed to permeate her skin. She had beaten up four overly zealous men who couldn't keep their hands to themselves. Her actions caught the attentions of a girl named Roxanne who was a favorite of Hinder. She told her all of the CEO's little likes and agreed to help them on their mission. Ariadne felt she could trust the woman.

~ When she came back out again, Arthur was in the kitchen. He had cut up the strawberries for her, even getting some ice cream. A real treat.  
"Haven't had really good fruit in a long time because of the droughts. Hate to think what they cost you." He told her somberly.

"I didn't really care about the price." She told him nibbling on a segment he offered. The fruit tasted sweet and lavish in her mouth as they ate in silence. Strawberries with vanilla ice cream. "I don't think I've eaten this good since I was a kid." She said with a smile.

"Me either." He told her.

They sat in silence for awhile. The rush of euphoric fruit coursing through his body as he tried not to think how strawberries were an aphrodisiac. She was dressed only in that red town again. Her body small enough to be safely concealed in it and she didn't seem to care if she was nearly naked in front of him.

~ Ariadne felt much batter after her bath. She could get used to a world with hot water and electricity. A handsome, noble, revolutionist waiting for her. She could get used to a world where ice cream and fruit were available. Maybe that alone was worth fighting for.

She looked over Arthur. His rejection of her last night made her want him all the more. She wanted him. She wondered why he was so shy? Why he had rejected her. Her quick and careful eyes catching him stealing little looks at her in nothing but a big red towel.

She smiled to herself. She wasn't sure why, maybe it was the fruit, but she wanted him now more then ever.

With casual grace, she left her chair and purposefully dropped her towel as she walked past him. The air hitting her body making it spark to life. She knew she had caught his attention. That his eyes were drinking her in like he was starving.  
"Let's go to bed." She whispered.


	7. Chapter 7

7.

~ Like a racehorse out of the starting gate, Arthur was on her. Their lips barely having time to separate as he kept whispering how beautiful she was. His fingers becoming clumsy as he struggled out of his tie and shirt.

She smiled at him as her nimble fingers took over the task. She grinned happily as she watched his eyes raking shamelessly over her naked body, liking what he saw. His look made her feel beautiful as his fingertips dared to touch her bare skin as she undressed him. His light touch grazing over her back, her belly, her breasts.

"I can't fight you." He whispered at last.  
"You shouldn't try." She told him playfully.

~ Morning came and Arthur over slept. He had never overslept before but his new lover left him worn out and his body needed to recover.

"Wake up." She whispered in his ear. Her lips teasing him for another round.

"I'm worn out." He whispered barely able to turn over. His body sore and dehydrated. His skin still hurt slightly from the bites she had nipped into his flesh.

"I know." She told him. Her body smelling fresh and clean from her shower. "But it's Friday and the mission in in a few hours."

He nodded as she left him.

"I'll fix breakfast and then we can leave." She told him.

He rolled back into bed. His blankets still smelling like her. She had been amazing. Her body was perfectly attuned to his every want and need. Like she could read his mind. Then there was another part of her that seemed to take advantage of him. That left him unwilling and unable to refuse what she wanted.

He would have promised her anything. Done anything, so long as she didn't stop.

'_What have I gotten myself into_?' He thought as the memories of her came back. He wanted her again. Her touch, her body, was something he could easily find himself addicted to.

~ The rest of the Team was waiting for them that afternoon.

"You alright?" Eames asked. "You look a little worn out."

"I'm fine." Arthur said running a hand over the chin he had halfheartedly shaved that morning. He did look exhausted.

By sharp contrast, Ariadne looked bright and chipper. Her eyes alive and she seemed happy and ready for this mission. They didn't look at one another as Cobb drove them to the club to meet Roxanne. It was almost night fall as the van went on to district 5. Their passes looked over as the district guards were not used to seeing people in a running vehicle.

They were waived though without much fuss.

"Our contact will be inside." Ariadne said pointing to the club off a lonely, broken stretch of highway.

"You sure we can trust her?" Cobb asked.

"About as sure as I can be." Ariadne said sadly as they watched the prostitutes wander up and down the street.

~ "Change of plans." Roxanne said with a sigh. "He was feeling a little more friskey then normal and I had to drug him. You guys will have to do it here."

Roxanne was an older woman who was trying desperately to hang on to the last threads of her sex appeal. She had stuffed herself into an ill fitting micro skirt with a garishly sequined bra. Her rolls and folds spilling off her making Arthur turn away. His appreciation for Ariadne's raw natural beauty growing.

"It's alright." Ariadne said. "We can do it here."

"No. This was not apart of the plan." Cobb said. The Extractor not liking it when things deviated from the plan.

"Cobb, we had to used fake district passes just to get here. It's too late to go back now." Eames told him as they looked over the unconscious Hinder.

'_This place is disgusting_.' Arthur thought as he prepared the PASIV to take them all under.

"I'll keep a lookout." Roxanne said easing herself to the door. She suddenly looked very skittish.

"Roxanne?" Ariadne said. Her eyes narrowing at the woman, sensing something was wrong. Roxanne fidgeted nervously.

"I'm sorry, Ariadne. I really am." She said before leaving the room.  
"Ambush!" Ariadne hissed as Arthur picked up on her body language and shut the PASIV device with a snap. The room seemed to explode then.

Ariadne and Arthur ducked behind the bed as the doors flew open and men armed with machine guns started to shooting.

Hinder's unconscious body was struck several times and he bleed out in his sleep.

"Cobb!" Ariadne screamed over the gun fire. "Back door!"

She watched as Cobb and Eames vanished from a back door in the room. Hopefully getting away.

"What do we do?" Arthur shouted as the temperature in the room seem to grow hotter from the gun fire. They were hidden behind a large metal dresser. It provided safe cover for the moment.

Ariadne removed a hand gun she rarely used and hissed to Arthur.

"I'll provide cover fire. You run for it. Don't go to the van. Stay on the streets. Find Cobb and Eames." She hissed.

"What about you?" He shouted over the sound of gun fire.

"I said go!" She shouted at him as she returned fire. Arthur hesitated only for a second. He took one last look at her before dashing over to the back door.

~ He could still hear the gun fire going off in Roxanne's room as he raced down the hall. He hated to leave Ariadne. Although she was highly trained and their Point Man, he hated the thought of leaving a woman behind as he made his get away.

His more rational thoughts was that he needed to get away. Not to save himself, but to keep the cause alive. Someone had to report on what had happened. He raced down confusing corridors, looking for an exit. His eyes finally landing on a broken red sign.

As he fled into the parking lot, he was just in time to see Cobb and Eames executed.

"No!" He found himself shouting as the guards converged on him. Arthur ducked down and narrowly missed the bullets flying directly at him.

Suddenly, the guards were being shot it.

He could scarcely believe it as he watched Ariadne coming out of the back entrance. Her hand clutched to her side and shooting the guards.

"Are you hurt?" She shouted as she reached him.

"I... I don't think so." He told her in disbelief. "Where do we go now?"

~ Ariadne smiled at him over the pain in her side. She had taken fire trying to get away. It was superficial, but hurt a bitch. She had to get Arthur out of here. Cobb and Eames were lost, but she had to get Arthur out. She believed in his cause and she had to save him.

"We go that way. You stay behind me." She panted as she reloaded.

"Your hurt." Arthur said looking over her blood stained clothing.  
"It's not my blood." She lied. "Now, lets go."

Arthur must have put his head up too soon. Or else, she didn't clear their escape thoroughly. Neither one of them saw the guard lurking in the shadows behind a derelict car.

As soon as Arthur made to run, the guard stood and coldly shot him in the head.


	8. Chapter 8

8.

~ Arthur never woke up with a start. He remained, as always, cool and collected when waking from a dream. No matter how horrible or confusing the dream had been. No matter how lost he had gotten.

He heard Cobb and Eames breathing hard and shouting at Yuseff as the tendrils of the dream faded from the Point Man's mind. The memory of that broken world. The rioting, the Panic, The destruction of district 8... It had all been just a dream.

"The Compound must have been too heavy." Yuseff was saying. "It made you forget that it was a dream."

"Made us forget everything!" Eames was shouting.

"Ariadne." The Point Man said turning to look for the Architect. He saw she was still sleeping. Her cheeks rosy and pink from her deep slumber. Her breathing long and deep.

"Get her out!" The Point Man barked as he stood and carelessly ripped out his line. "Get her out now!"

The Chemist hurried over to the PASIV and timed her out as Arthur went to her side.

~ She shot the guard without hesitation or guilt.

"Arthur!" Ariadne screamed as she raced to him. His lifeless body laying in the cold, dirty parking lot. His dead eyes were open and staring at her.

"Arthur!" She cried again as she cradled his head in her lap. She couldn't help but start to cry. "I'm so sorry." She cried as she could feel guards advancing around her.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake violently around her. Moving the broken, useless cars around.

'_Earthquake?_' She thought numbly as she held Arthur's body close to her. '_Doesn't matter now. Let me die here. The cause is lost. All is lost. Just let me die. Just let me die._' She thought as the ground broke apart and she fell into a black oblivion.

~ "Ariadne?" Came Arthur's calm and collected voice. She woke with a gasp. Her breathing rapid as she tried to gain control of herself.  
She was just in a parking lot. She had been holding his lifeless body as guards were preparing to shoot her. Even now, that world was fading away quickly.

"Your alright." Arthur was saying. His voice so steady and sure, it had to be true. His hands were over her own. That warm sensation of flesh melting with flesh, letting her know he was alive and real.

"What...What happened?" She panted clutching her side. The memory of being shot still lingering in her mind.

"The compound. It must have been too heavy." Yuseff stammered. His brow sweating as he mopped it with a cloth handkerchief.

"I'm sorry." He said to them.

"It's alright. Were fine." Eames said looking over the Architect as she tried to collect herself.

"It was a _dream_?" She panted looking at Arthur with wide disbelieving eyes. Memories of who he really was came rushing back to her.

How could she have forgotten him?

He was their Point Man once more. No more geeky glasses. His hair was longer and smoothed back like always. His suit well tailored and and fit him nicely. Even Cobb and Eames looked different. The Extractor's face looking less troubled.

"We were experimenting with one of Yuseff's new compounds. We lost ourselves for a while." Cobb explained.

"Yeah, no kidding!" Ariadne shouted. Her memories as a Point Man still lingering. How truly fearless she had been.  
"Are you alright?" Arthur said calmly taking her hand again. His eyes looking over her as she rubbed her head.

"Yes, I'm fine." She said hiding her face from him. "I'm fine."

~ Yuseff was apologetic to the Team.

"This is how we learn what compounds work and how." He explained.

"It's alright, Yuseff." Eames said looking over at Ariadne talking with Arthur.

"I'm glad it was just a dream." Cobb said with relief. "I'd hate to think that world was reality."

~ "Are you sure your alright?" Arthur asked her rubbing a firm, controlled hand over her back. Ariadne nodded and relaxed into the movement of his hand. His touch comforting her. They had retreated to her apartment. The others on their Team not knowing they were a couple, in the dream world and in reality.  
"Just embarrassed is all." She said with a weak smile.

"Embarrassed? Why?"

"Well, I was acting like a bad ass in the dream." She said with a laugh. "I was doing your job."

"You were doing it pretty well, from what I saw." He said with a smile.

She shook her head. And pulled her legs up to her chest. She was suddenly grateful for the small things in her home. For the hot water she had showered with. For the electricity that had snapped on when they walked through the door. For the food that was waiting for her in the fridge.

She most grateful for the Point Man sitting with her on her couch.

"Well look at me." He said cheerfully. "I was some revolutionary trying to save the world. What does that say about my own vanity?"

"That you would help people? That you would try to rebel against an evil force?" She offered. "It's very noble. I was just some... bitch who was in it for the money."

"Well... at least you were sexy about doing it." He teased nuzzling her ear. She turned her head into his contact. Liking the way he felt.  
"Did you really like that? They way I was in the dream?" She asked.  
"Oh, yeah." He breathed with a smile. His hand running through her damp hair. "I think I might have to teach you some self defense now that I know how hot you can look while doing it."

He pulled away from her slightly.

"I never knew you wanted to be on Point." He said.

"I didn't know you wanted to be a liberal warrior." She accused back at him.

"Well, if the world did go that way, I would like to think I would take a stand. Fight the good fight. You looked really hot on the motorcycle, by the way." He added.

"Oh, please." Ariadne said her face rushing red. "I would never ride one of those."  
"Maybe you should." He said remembering the dream.  
She looked back at him in amazement. She had never seen him so... excited.

"I'm just saying, I think I might like the Point Woman once and awhile." He said kissing her cheek. She thought about saying something to him but bit her lip. Her cheeks a deep red.

"I thought you liked me just the way I am." She said at last. Her lover kissing her neck appreciatively.

"I _love_ you just the way you are." He corrected. "Can't I also like it when your more... aggressive?" He asked innocently.

She wasn't able to articulate a reply because his hands were wandering up her night shirt. The Point Man seeming to want her more then normal.

"I've always liked that fearless streak about you." He murmured as he came up for air. "I think I want to buy some red bath towels to." He whispered as he rolled her gracefully onto her back. His long body over hers in an instant.

She couldn't help but smile as her body responded to him.

"I think I'd like that." She whispered as his hands went to her panties.

**~ END ~**

**I know, I'm evil. **


End file.
